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DELIVERED IN THE CAPITOL 



efts ot wtuf^tfinatonp 



THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1825, 

By ASBURYl)ICKINS,n^-l«^l' 



Published at the request of the Committee of Arrangements. 



WASHINGTON : 

PBINTEI) BY GALES 6? SEATOIT, 

1825. 



■0)2!L 

\SJ!S 



ORATION, 



IN yielding to the call of my fellow-citizens, whose 
partiality has assigned to one sohumhle as myself, the hon- 
or of addressing the enlightened auditory of the American 
Metropolis, on an occason so solemn as the celehration of 
the Independence of a great people, and the promulgation 
of those eternal principles of political truth, on which the 
freedom and social happiness of man are founded, the ap- 
prehension of my own inability has been overcome in the 
desire to do public liomage to my country and to liberty. 
And, though genius and learning have, here, poured forth 
I'ich strains of eloquence in honor of this glorious day, I 
still cherish the hope, that the devotion of a fervent heart 
may not be a rejected offering. 

In the high ministry to which you have called me, it 
is not for me, in this year of jubilee, when peace and good- 
will should reign in every breast, to revive in you those 
feelings which our fathers' wrongs produced in their bo- 
soms. Nobly were those wrongs avenged ; and gener- 
ously should they be forgotten. Happily, the occasion 
offers other, and richer, and more congenial themes ; in 
the blessings which the glorious event that we commemo. 
rate, has brought to us and to mankind ; in the virtue and 
courage of the patriots by whom it was achieved ; and in 
grateful joy for what, under the favor of Heaven, we 
ow c to their sacrifices, their toils, and their example. 



Whether as a philosopheror as a statesman, it is with 
a swelling bosom that an American looks back to the ori- 
gin of the republic of which he is a citizen. Of his high 
ancestry beyond the seas, the unfading verdure of British 
fame justly makes him proud. Yet, when he recollects 
the circumstances under which his forefathers sought to 
create for themselves a freer country in the wilderness of 
this new and distant continent, he sees, in their high sense 
of right, their strong love of liberty, their daring spirit 
of enterprize, their hardy contempt of suffering and of 
danger, the elements and the promise of a higher destiny. 
But it is when he approaches nearer to his own times, 
that he feels all the glory of the race from which he 
springs ; when he finds his fathers, after resisting with 
firmness and moderation the encroachments of power up- 
on their rights, casting off, with dignity, the authority 
under which they had been born and had lived — not because 
it had lost its force, but because it had forfeited their re- 
spect — and then, instead of suffering the social fabric to 
fall into anarchy, or placing it under the protection of 
other rulers, calmly investigating the elements of civil so- 
ciety, and the true object of political institutions, esta- 
blishing for themselves a system of self-government, and 
identifying the foundation of their state with the promul- 
gation of the eternal principles of political truth. 

In honoring, therefore, this glorious epoch, it is not 
alone the foundation of our republic, great and dear to us 
as it is, that we now celebrate. AVe celebrate the tri- 
umph of right over force, of patriotism over ambition ; we 
celebrate the liberation of a whole people from political 
bondage ; and we celebrate their still more glorious eman- 
cipation from moral thraldom. For what thraldom can 
be more degrading to the human mind, than the belief 
that man is incapable of self-government ? Man, whom 
tlie Deity has formed after his own image, whom he has 



5 



placed at the head of the created beings of this world ; 
whom he has endowed with a soul so lofty, so great, and 
so incomprehensible, as to be deemed an emanation of the 
divine essence ; man, who is hereafter to dwell with God 
in eternity ; — that a being so constituted, whose origin and 
whose destiny are so noble, even with all the aids derived 
from the revelation of the divine will, is incapable of self- 
government ! Monstrous and profane dogma ! If the ac- 
quisition of national independence, or the triumph over 
political oppression, be objects worthy of grateful and 
proud remembrance, what honors are too great for the 
epoch of that glorious liberty which restored man to the 
dignity of his nature ? And, if to have achieved that in- 
dependence, and that triumph, confer honor and renown, 
what cause have we not to be proud of our name and our 
country, since it was by the American people, by our ve- 
nerated fathers, that glorious liberty was proclaimed and 
established ; not for our benefit only, but for the benefit 
of all nations, kindreds, and tongues. 

As the foundation of this republic was illustrious, so 
was the struggle for its establishment glorious. Their 
battles on the land and on the sea — battles which have im- 
mortalized many a hill and plain, many a town and vil- 
lage, many a stream and lake, and honored many a name- 
less spot on the desert ocean, — battles which have decked 
the page of history with many a gallant name of heroes 
who nobly conquered, and of champions who not less no- 
bly perished in the unequal fight, — these have given to 
our fathers a renown in arms, which the most distant pos- 
terity will honor. Nor was their fortitude in suffering 
less general or less exemplary than their bravery was 
brilliant. During the many long and gloomy years of 
the dread contest against their mighty adversary, amidst 
the slaughter of fathers, husbands, and sons, the desolation 
of wives and children, the destruction of their dwellings. 



the ravaging of their fields ; amidst the poverty and ruin 
that pervaded the w^hole land — never was the thought of 
submission entertained : and, though hut a nominal sub- 
mission would have restored peace and plenty to their 
homes, every burden was borne, every sacrifice made, 
every toil encountered, every suffering endured, with a 
fixed resolution to triumph or to perish ; with a hope in 
God whether for life or for death. But it was not more in 
their bravery and fortitude than in the higher moral qua- 
lities, that they excelled. Amidst all the dangers and 
sufferings and deatli, on the one side, and all the allure- 
ments of wealth and power on the other, but a solitary 
traitor could be found ; no peculator dared to enrich 
himself from the coffers of his suffering country ; and no 
selfish ambition appeared, either in the council or in the 
field, to seek power at the expense of tlie public liberties. 
Though civil war called forth those passions which be- 
long peculiarly to itself, the cruelties which have stained 
the histories of other nations were here unknown : and 
though society was resolved into its simple elements, no 
country, v/iiere even tiie wisest laws maintained their full- 
est authority, ever exhibited fewer crimes. And if in her 
Washington, greatest of all great names, her Fka?s klin, 
her Hancock, her Adamses, her Jefferson, her War- 
ren, and Greene, and Gates, and Montgomery, and 
the whole high host of patriots, heroes, and sages, whose 
names will live forever in her heart, and in the world's his- 
tory, she presented to mankind bright examples of great- 
ness ; so, in her citizens, did she exhibit a whole nation, 
not less worthy by their virtues to share the triumphs 
than the toils of the illustrious contest. 

From such a struggle, in such a cause, and witli 
such a people, there could be but one result. An hono- 
rable peace, founded on the acknowledgment of that in- 
dependence which our fathers had asserted, crowned tlieir 



heroic efforts: wise institutions followed ; and public pros- 
perity and private happiness are the rich fruits. 

Oh ! ye Patriots of the Revolution, nobly did you re- 
deem the pledge, which, in the day of peril, and in the 
fervor of self-devotion, you made, before God and before 
men, of your lives, your fortunes, and your sacred honor! 
The toils which you endured, and the freedom which we 
enjoy, are the proofs that you made no empty pledge. 
Brave, generous, virtuous spirits, eternal remembrance 
and eternal gratitude be yours ! You it was who gave to 
us for our inheritance, freedom, country, fame, happi- 
ness. You it was who taught to the whole human race, 
those sublime principles of human rights, which, in their 
influence upon the well-being of mankind, are inferior 
only to those sacred truths of religion which the Deity 
himself hath condescended to reveal. You it was who 
proved, by your conduct, that freedom is to be gained 
without subverting social order, without violating the 
restraints of morality, and without sacrificing the affec- 
tions and sympathies of our nature. That liberty, these 
institutions which we enjoy, precious as they be, are not 
more precious than your example. And dear, ever dear, 
to us and our children's children, be your memory. 
Though ye be, now, almost all gone from us, to reap, in 
a better world, the reward of your good deeds, some few 
there are, venerated friends, whom heaven still permits 
to dwell among us : and long, long may they live, to 
behold the growing prosperity of this happy land, which 
they made free, and to share in the gratitude which a 
generous nation cherishes for her founders. 

Withdrawing, awhile, from this grateful theme, let 
us, on this jubilee of human freedom, survey the improved 
condition of man since the memorable epoch which we 
this day celebrate. Though the progress of truth and 
liberty has been often obstructed, though the conflict 



9 

which they have maintained against tyranny and error, 
has sometimes been of doubtful and wavering success, 
and though, when almost at the moment of victory, a 
melancholy reverse has sometimes thrown them far be- 
hind in the contest, still, throughout the civilized world, 
the moral and political condition of man has improved. 
Though no truths can be more certain than those which 
constitute the peculiar basis of our political system, it is 
not for me, standing here in the Capitol of a nation, which 
alike respects the rights of nations and of men, to ar- 
raign the systems under which other nations and other 
men may choose to live. The institutions of a country 
must be adapted to the condition of the people ; when this 
changes, those change with it. The generous and en- 
lightened spirit of philanthropy which distinguishes the 
American character, wishes, for every nation, all the hap- 
piness of which their condition is susceptible ; and, what- 
ever may be their systems of government, it is too just to 
withhold from any the applause that may be due. 

Looking abroad, then, in this spirit, we see in 
Europe that proud nation from whom we descended — a 
nation famed in arts, in arms, and in empire, yet owing 
her greatness most to the freedom of her people — still lead- 
ing in the career of political improvement. Imbued with 
the light of the age, and profiting, as all enlightened 
nations must profit, by the memorable example which 
our prosperity affords of the transcendant influence of 
liberty upon the well-being of states, she tempers with 
its spirit those institutions which have descended to her 
from feudal times. The sanguinary maxims of her penal 
code, which the benevolence of her people had long re- 
fused to execute, are gradually abrogated. The restraints 
which have so long fettered the industry and enterprize 
of hep subjects, she is now removing. But she owes it 
to their patriotism, to her own honor, and to the spirit of 



the times, to take from their conscience those bonds which 
will not permit them to serve their country without sacri- 
ficing their religious faith. If, under her authority, deeds 
are sometimes done, at which the genius of her fame drops 
a tear; if her government is sometimes betrayed into 
measures adverse to liberty, or sometimes turns a deaf 
car to the cries of suffering humanity ; yet her generous 
people are never slow to regret wrongs done in her name, 
and they are among the first to sympathise with the 
oppressed and distressed in every quarter of the globe : 
and the crown Itself, yielding to the liberal sentiments 
which pervade the nation, has readily followed our own 
example, in acknowledging the new republics of America. 
In France, that nation, who, from her early friend- 
ship, and from the munificent aid which she afforded to 
us in our time of need, w ill always hold a place in our 
affections — that nation, who, from her natural policy, as 
well as from the feelings of her inhabitants, will always 
be our friend — that nation in whose reverses and in whose 
glory we shall always sympathise — how different is the 
political condition of the people ! A constitutional govern- 
ment, in which the principle of popular representation is 
one of the great elements, exercises its sway under the 
salutary influence of an enlightened public opinion ; jus- 
tice is administered under a wise and mild code ; the trial 
by jury has taken place of the lettres de cachet; religious 
liberty is secured ; the avenues to public honors are thrown 
open to every class ; and vassalage is obliterated in the 
rights given by the charter and the laws to all the French 
people. If, to our eyes, her rulers seem to guard the 
powers of the government with two many restraints upon 
the people ; if, frightened by the excesses which have been 
committed in the name of the rights of man, they seek to 
confine his conduct to the practice of his duties, some 
apology may perhaps be found in the recollection of the 



10 



past. But, whatever may be the* errors ot her present sys- 
tem, they will yield, as, among enlightened nations all 
errors yield, to the instructions of experience. 

In Russia, which, from her vast power, enjoys a 
prominent place in the affairs of tlie world, and which^ 
from the good will that she has always manifested to- 
wards us, claims our best wishes, the progress of know- 
ledge prepares the way for liberal institutions. The 
mighty Autocrat who controls her destinies, while he 
guards with a w atchful eye and firm hand, the interests 
of the throne, dispenses among his subjects, according to 
their w ants and capacity, in tlie form of imperial edicts, 
many a solid and wholesome improvement. By slow de- 
grees, he assimilates his system to those of more enlight- 
ened nations. In the abolition of servitude on the estates 
of the crown, and the application of his revenue to pur- 
chase liberty for the serfs of his nobles ; in the total aboli- 
tion of torture ; in the suppression of the secret council of 
inquisition, and the establishment of the Senate ; he in- 
spired the early hope that humanity would owe much to 
his reign: and even at tliis late period, so great is his 
power, that, if, leaving to other princes the adjustment 
of the relations between them and their subjects, and list- 
ening only to the benevolence of his own heart, he w^ould 
devote himself to the happiness of his vast empire, he 
might still realize the hopes of his early friends, who, 
desirous only of his true greatness, wished to see the 
great conqueror's renown eclipsed in the higher glory of 
the benefactor. 

In Portugal, where the spirit of freedom has been 
kindled in the struggle against foreign domination, the 
people look with confidence for the fulfilment of the pro- 
mise made to them by their King, of a National Cortes. 
In Switzerland, they still preserve, with their simple 
manners, their Republican feelings. In the Netherlands, 



11 



where the Government has changed only in name, a con- 
stitutional system exists, along with a practical ac(]iiaint- 
ance with the principles of freedom. In Sweden, the 
new sovereign repays, by attention to the interests of his 
kingdom, the confidence which she manifested by his se- 
lection. In Denmark, nnder a government despotic in 
form, the subject is freed from oppression by tlie mild 
and pacific character of its policy. In all these States, 
the general progress of improvement is manifested in tlie 
ameliorated condition of the people and the laws. 

In some of the States of Germany, which, at the 
epoch of onr Independence, were despotic principalities, 
constitutional governments exercise their paternal influ- 
ence : In others, though promised in the day of royal 
need, they are still withheld. But, even the promise of 
free institutions is a triumpli to liberty — since it is an ac- 
knowledgment of the rights of man. Though by the in- 
ferior boon of good laws some governments seek to re- 
concile their people to the privation of that freedom Avhich 
is their natural right, let us hope that it will not be de- 
layed too long for their own welfare, or for the repose of 
the world. The light has gone forth ; the hopes of people, 
and the alarm of despots, show that its influence is felt, 
where it ought to be felt. And, if there be an alliance 
for maintaining the rights of kings, it is but a tribute to 
the power of freedom, and an evidence of the progress of 
truth. It w ill be in vain for such an alliance, if indeed 
snch an alliance exists, to attempt to grasp in their own 
hands the power of withholding or dispensing those rights 
which the people seek, and which, sooner or later, tliey 
must obtain. To stifle truth — to destroy liberty — thanks 
to our ow^n free institutions, and to the power of the 
press, is now impossible. Men, now, know both their 
ow n rights, and the rights of those who govern. And, 
if the peace of nations be dear to such an alliance; if 
their own tranquillity, and the welfare of their people. 



1^ 

be precious to them, let them «eck, as the best means of 
securing all, not to break down and destroy the spirit of 
truth and liberty, by cliains, and by the sword, but, by 
wise and free institutions, to foster and to lead it to its 
only legitimate object, social happiness. 

Though in Spain and in Italy — Spain, the discover- 
er of this new world — Spain, our early friend ; and Italy 
the preserver of letters, amidst the darkness of barba- 
rism. — their former glories be now dimmed ; and though 
bondage and exile, pain and want, ignominy and death, 
are the hard rewards of many a gallant spirit who strug- 
gled in their cause, — still the struggle has not been alto- 
gether vain. The vestal flame of truth and liberty is 
still kept bright and pure on the altar of many a patriot 
heart ; and, even in distant lands, many a fervent wish 
is offered up, that its benign light may soon beam forth, 
and illumine their fertile regions. 

Extending our view, it is in Greece that the soul- 
stirring prospect is presented, of a people rising in the 
majesty of their strength, and resolving to live free or 
die. Greece, the ancient land of patriots, heroes, and 
sages, the Muses' birth-place, the Graces' home, and of 
Genius the resplendent dwelling. Awakened, at last, 
from the moral and intellectual lethargy, under which for 
ages she has lain pi'ostrate, the pity of the free, and the 
scorn of the oppressor, with the consciousness of her de- 
gradation has returned the memory of her former glory. 
On her mountains, amidst the ruins of her temples, in 
her sacred groves, and on her sea-beaten shores, has the 
voice of liberty resounded. From her fields, more proli- 
fic than in the fabled days of her origin, have sprung up 
bands of soldiers ; and her seas, not less fertile in the 
means of her deliverance, have brought forth armed ships. 
Wherever her enemy appears, he meets her victorious 
defenders. With the spirit and the energy of her heroic 
ancestors, proudly does she bear herself in the contest. 



13 



Though it is under the sacred banner of the Cross that 
she fights for liberty and for knowledge, still no free, no 
civilized, no Christian nation, aids in the holy struggle. 
Yet, alone, but self-sustained, thus far, in victorious 
splendor, she has waged the unequal war against her 
mighty foe, her blood-stained oppressor. And, if there 
be virtue in the prayers of the free, the brave, and the 
good, who, in every clime, and in every nation, her 
name, her cause, and her sufferings, have made her 
friends, — liberty, peace, and happiness, will soon crown 
her glorious efforts. 

From the anxious contemplation of a people struggling 
to be free, we look with joy to a whole family of nations, 
which, in this new world, have passed through long and 
great tribulation, from enslaved and dependent colonies, 
to sovereign and free states. There, throughout a vast 
region, which, a few years ago, was shrouded in more 
than barbaric darkness, and over a numerous people, 
whose degraded condition the philosopher contemplated 
with dismay, and the philanthropist in sorrow, light and 
liberty are now enjoyed, and whole nations of freemen 
now dwell. Of these, Colombia, Mexico, Guatimala, 
Buenos Ayres, Chili, and Peru, all following tlie ex- 
ample given to them by our fathers on the great day 
which we here celebrate, have adopted, also, their politi- 
cal faith : Republicans in name and in principle, they 
have founded their social system on the rights of man, 
and now enjoy the glorious privilege of self-government. 
Brazil, though preferring the form of the political insti- 
tutions of Europe, under a constitutional government, is, 
nevertheless, united in the great policy which directs the 
course of the American nations — justice and peace. It 
is in this American family, of which it is our pride to be 
the oldest member, that, whatever may betide the old 
world, the elements of rational liberty will be preserved 
to mankind ; it is by their joint wisdom that the princi- 



14 

pies whicii should govern nations, in their conduct to- 
wards each other, whether in peace or war, will be es- 
tablished ; it is over their vast territories, where liberty- 
reigns, that knowledge will diffuse her benign influence. 
What event could be more worthy to mark this jubilee of 
American liberty, than the enfranchisement of so many 
American nations ; and it requires no spirit of prophecy, 
to predict that, before another jubilee rolls round, the 
whole American hemisphere will be a land of freemen. 

In this hasty sketch of the improved condition of 
the world, we are brought at length near home. But, 
before we turn our eyes to the gay scene which our own 
prosperity affords, let us not, on this occasion, overlook 
the other benefits which mankind has derived from the 
progress of truth — in the wide diffusion of the mild 
precepts of Christianity ; in the aljolition of the slave 
trade ; in the termination of Christian captivity among 
the rovers of Barbary ; in the revival af industry in 
Egypt ; in the foundation of flourishing colonies, from 
wliich civilization is to be spread tlirough Australasia, 
Polynesia, and even Africa itfelf ; andy though last, not 
least, in the extension and improvement of the useful and 
polite arts, of literature and of science. 

Come we now to our own home ; to this dear and 
cherished spot, from which, liberal a& you are, I feel 
that I have too long detained you. It is here, in this 
favorite abode of truth and liberty, in this land of peace, 
gladness, and plenty, that, by the favor of Heaven, the true 
results are to be seen of that glorious event which we this 
day commemorate. Our little, neglected colony, changed 
to a mighty republic ; our limits extended from ocean to 
ocean ; our few hardy peasantry grown up into a nu- 
merous nation, rivalling the world in every art and every 
pursuit to which the diversified genius of man is directed, 
and, though loving peace, feeling, in the results of two 



15 

wars, no other regrets tlian for the brave men who fell in 
their country's cause ; a nation rich in honor, that safe- 
guard of liberty and virtue, rich in the patriotism and 
valor of her citizens, rich in their enterprise, tlieir in- 
dustry, their knowledge, and their genius. Thougli the 
pure manners and upright feelings of our fathers left 
but little room for improvement iti moral conduct, yet, 
in all else that gives charms to social life, and prosperity 
to nations, how have we surpassed the most sanguine 
dreams of enthusiasm ! Where, then, the prowling 
savage placed his solitary hut, populous cities now raise 
their stately piles ; towns and villages now occupy the 
ground where then were the dens of the panther and the 
bear ; golden fields and ruddy orchards have supplanted 
the primeval forests ; roads and canals now pass over 
wilds through which the Indian had not then ventured to 
make his hunting path ; and over rivers which were then 
unknown,the steamboat, man's proud triumph over nature^ 
transports in safety the varied riches of every clime, in 
return for the superabundant products which industry 
now gathers from what were then but inaccessible 
wildernesses. On every sea our commerce spreads its 
flowing sail ; and on every sea rides our proud navy, pro- 
tecting by its renown not less than by its power, the 
wealth and the people which American enterprize spreads 
over the vast expanse of waters. Our coasts, no longer 
inviting aggression by their defencelessness, are guarded 
by batteries that defy attack : and, as a monument em- 
blematic of all our improvements, this vast and magnifi- 
cent edifice, where then stood the rugged oak, now rears its 
lofty dome among the clouds, displaying for future ages 
the patriotic munificence with which a free, powerful, and 
polished people honors the seat of its national councils. 

Nor is the happy condition of our country more 
wo rthy of admiration then the benevolent spirit which 



16 



pervades her policy. Unambitious of conquest, she 
calmly pursues her own happiness, without disturbing 
the repose of others. What she needs of others she 
repays by ample equivalents. Wrongs she inflicts on 
none ; preferring, in every doubtful case, rather to suffer 
than to injure : and, for her own wrongs, seeking justice 
jfirst by reason and persuasion. Though, when at last, 
safety and honor compel her to strike, dreadful is she in 
the hour of retribution. Yet, even then, she seeks not 
vengeance. Though the strength and bravery of her 
arms would make her revenge terrible, yet her wars are 
but a last appeal for justice ; and, if she seeks victory, it is 
only to maintain, by the sword, those rights which could 
not be sustained by reason. But, though pacific in her 
wishes, and moderate in her character, she has, in the 
only two wars that her short history contains — one for 
her liberty, the other for her riglits — established for her- 
self a renown in arms surpassed only by her fame in 
peace. The achievements of those wars are too well 
known to require a recapitulation. They form part of 
the moral wealth of each citizen among us ; they are the 
gems which he treasures up in the casket of his memory ; 
and which, on the gala days of his country's glory, beam 
with all their refulgence on his breast. From Lexington 
and Bunker's Hill to York, in the first war ; and, in the 
second war, from the capture of the Guerriere, on one 
ocean, to the capture of the Penguin on the other ; from 
Chippewa, in the North, to New Orleans, in the South ; 
over land and over sea, wherever a foe was to be met, 
there shone the glory of her arms. Yet, it is not in war, 
though there so glorious, that she places her chief glory : 
It is in the happiness and in the affections of her people, 
and in doing to all nations as she would have all nations 
do to her. 



17 

Time is wanting to exhibit all the features of that 
benign policy which she is striving to introduce into the 
laws, and into the conduct of nations. Of these, among 
which the abolition of the slave trade ranks first in im- 
portance, her statutes and her treaties are the best record. 
Her internal policy bears the same benignant impress. A 
government, whose power is never felt by her citizens, 
but when stretched forth for their service or protection ; 
a people relieved from taxation ; great portions of the 
national domains set apart for the support of education; 
large sums applied from the public revenue to the open- 
ing of roads and construction of canals; and the na- 
tional munificence shown, not in monuments of pomp and 
splendor, but, in providing for the old age of those who 
bore arms in the sacred war of her Revolution, and in 
restoring to affluence the brave and good man who risked 
more than affluence in her cause, and who, by his devo- 
tion to liberty in the new world and in the old, has lost 
all but his own virtue and the gratitude of the free. With 
all this, she is surrounding herself with ample means of 
security on both elements ; and, instead of raising great 
armies to endanger her own or other nations' tranquillity, 
preserving military knowledge in her schools and her 
garrisons ; and, for her chief safety, trusting, as she has 
most gloriously trusted before, and as the martial and 
patriotic ardor which now manifests itself among her 
youth, assures her she may securely trust again, to the 
only true defence of republics — arms in the hands of 
freemen. 

These, Oh ! Liberty, are thy works ! These'are the 
fruits of thy benignant influence ! Here, on the great day 
which we commemorate, was thy reign proclaimed. Here, 
alone, thy starry banner, planted by thy hand on our soil, 
waves over peace, virtue, freedom, and happiness. It is 
here only that thy true attributes are known to man. 11^ 



18 

in other times, and in other lafids, the mists of ignorance 
or passion obscured the benignity of thy features; if the 
brightness of thy eyes, sparkling only with innocence and 
joy, seemed to thy too zealous votaries the glare of pas- 
sion; and if, in the olive branch which graced thy hand, 
they saw only the lighted torch, here hast thou revealed 
thyself in all thy charms, and in all the mild radiance of 
thy full glory. Here mayst thou ever dwell ; in the 
hearts of this people mayst thou ever find pure and fer^ 
vent altars. 

But, in the midst of our joy and of our hopes, let us 
not forget, that, on the Union which binds us together as 
one people, and on that national feeling which connects 
this whole people in their affections, both our freedom and 
our peace depend ; that it is the diffusion of knowledge 
alone, that can preserve and perfect our social and poli- 
tical institutions ; and that, without virtue, liberty itself 
ceases to be a blessing. 

These sacred objects then, let us cherish. Here, in 
this, the chosen temple of patriotism and freedom, and 
on this, their glorious jubilee, while our bosoms are 
w^armed with the consciousness of the blessings which 
we enjoy through the virtue, wisdom, and courage of our 
fathers ; let us remember our solemn duty, to transmit 
them improved to our children. 

Here, too, in this Hall, where the Representatives of 
a free people make laws to perpetuate freedom, and to 
extend their country's happiness, and where are now as- 
sembled to do homage at their common shrine—the Chief 
Magistrate of the nation ; the dispensers and executors 
of the laws ; the venerable patriots of the Revolution ; 
the gallant men, who, by their exploits in the war just 
waged for our rights and honor, have raised for their 
country and for themselves, an imperishable renown ; the 
martial bands, who have voluntarily enrolled themselves 



19 

for the first dangers of future wars ; tlie reverend minis- 
ters of religion ; the dear and heauteous beings, who give 
to life its sweetest charm ; the ingenuous youth, who 
form their country's hope; and this great company of 
free, enlightened and happy citizens — here, let us all 
unite in devotion to their common good. It is here that 
foreign nations, whose respect we prize, and whose good- 
will we cherish, witness, by their worthy representatives, 
the sincerity of our patriotism and the liberal spirit 
which tempers it. And, if it be permitted to the spirits 
of the just to revisit the earth, it is here, also, that the 
shades of our patriots and heroes — whether their mortal 
remains still slumber on the fields where, for their coun- 
try's weal, they made the fervent offering of their lives ; 
or, whether they lie buried in the great deep, under that 
flag whose stars are emblems of the immortality which 
awaits its defenders ; or whether in the silent grave they 
rest after their mortal toils were done ; — it is here, in 
this consecrated spot, in the centre of that nation which 
they founded, and on this solemn occasion, that they 
would be assembled. And if, as our fond fancy dreams. 
Oh venerated manes, in this space ye be now present, 
invisible to human sight, you Avould we invoke to witness 
our devotion, while, within these lofty walls, which, de- 
fying the ravages of time, will be seen in many an after 
age, and now stand here as witnesses for posterity, we 
offer up our pious vows for liberty and for our country — 
imploring, in humble reverence, the favor of the Su- 
preme Being upon their sacred cause. 



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